Studying the impacts of cyber-attack on smart grid

Abstract

This paper investigates the smart grid infrastructure with an upgradation of existing electricity networks and advanced information and communication technologies (ICT), intelligent devices & system. Considering the energy utilities play an increasingly important role in our daily life, smart grid technology introduces new security challenges that must be addressed. This paper has focused on the implementation of smart grid architecture to develop a real time situation and study the impacts of cyber-attacks on its communication infrastructure. A micro grid structure with particular generation and distribution specification along with its relevant communication infrastructure is designed to analyze the security challenges. The studies are performed based on a digital computer simulation approach using Power Factory 14.1. Some dynamic system events are formulated linking the change in different system parameters and effects of these changes are examined on the smart grid generation and distribution network.